Prof. Dr. Bart Soenens

My main research interest is in the relation between parental rearing style and adolescents’ wellbeing and psychosocial functioning. My research addresses diverse dimensions of parenting style, including responsiveness (support), behavioral control (regulation), and autonomy-support. I have a particular fascination for the processes and dynamics (i.e., antecedents and mediators) involved in parental psychological control – a parenting dimension that has been found to predict psychopathological outcomes in children and adolescents, such as depressive symptoms and eating disorders. Apart from this research line on parenting I am involved in research on such topics as motivation, identity development, religion, and prejudice.

GENERAL PARENTING STYLEHere you can find a questionnaire tapping into 4 core dimensions of parenting style which we have been using a lot in our research. This questionnaire can be administered to both adolescents and parents. The file also contains references to studies providing validity and psychometric information of the scales.

PARENTAL PROHIBITION AND STYLE OF PROHIBITION IN DIFFERENT LIFE DOMAINSParents' frequency of introducing rules or prohibitions and their style of introducting those rules or prohibitions may differ by life domain. This questionnaire taps into the frequency, style, and perceived legitimacy of parental prohibition in the domains of morality and friendships. This questionnaire can be easily translated to other life domains as well.

INTERNALIZATION OF PARENTAL RULESChildren and adolescents can have different reasons to follow their parents rules and prohibitions. These reasons vary on a continuüm of internalization. This questionnaire taps into different reasons to follow parental rules, ranging from straightforward defiance against parental authority (rebellion) to acceptance and endorsement of parental rules (identification).

SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT OF TWO EXPRESSIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTROL (DAPCS)This recently developed and validated questionnaire taps into two domain-specific expressions of parental psychological control: (a) dependency-oriented psychological control (aimed at keeping a child within close boundaries) and (b) achievement-oriented psychological control (aimed at pushing a child to strive for excellence).

Brenning, K., Soenens, B., Braet, C., & Bosmans, G. (2011). Attachment anxiety and avoidance in middle childhood and early adolescence: The development of a child version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale – Revised. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 28, 1048-1072.